Cost of Discipleship
Matthew 10:39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Have you ever read Matthew ten; the chapter of how Jesus tells his disciples what their lives will be like as his disciples? This is where Jesus commissions them, and sends them out into the world changed; they are different now for many reasons, but only One reason. They are going to stand out from the crowds, and many times the crowds will turn against them. They are not conformers, they are not like James Dean, they are rebels with a holy cause. They are as Jesus puts it to them, 6 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. That one sentence alone deserves an exposition, a sermon on living your life for Christ, the cost, the danger, but yet the provision and security of his sovereignty is woven throughout chapter ten. All is well with the soul that abides in the security of discipleship of serving ones Savior.
I have read chapter ten this morning in three different translations; small changes in wording to fit the society I presume, but clearly the cost of discipleship rings clear. Can you read chapter ten and say yes to it’s demands? Can you answer the call to place your heart for him above your heart for even those he has entrusted you with for your time here? Can you put your heart for Christ above your family, the ones you likely proclaim you value more than life itself? Would you die for your child, but would you proclaim your faith if it cost you your child’s life? Do you realize that your child would be in the presence of God, and the testimony to God, through your faith in God, would show to all who would see and hear of it? Is that not the story of Abraham in the Bible that has been passed down for centuries as the patriarch of great faith? Was he not about to sacrifice his only son? These are the such cost that may come to even the “modern day” disciple of Jesus Christ. The persecution of Christians is all over the media, and the acts of terrorism are many times directed at those who are seen as followers of Christ. You must understand what the Koran teaches, for it teaches death to Christians…..yea…let that sink in as many proclaim it’s lie as a religion of peace.
Take the time to see the power of God in Matthew ten; the sovereign hand of God even woven even into the times when we know not what to say. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Even outside of the context of those courts, every Christian can testify of the power of the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance scripture, of how humbling it is when you realize you have been a mouthpiece of God, many times not even recalling what you have said. Matthew ten speaks of how Jesus will speak to our souls, of the intimacy he shares with his disciples, and of how he talks to God about his disciples. He tells of our eternal rewards for our finite struggles. Be bold in today’s society; be different from the crowd; stand up for your faith and know that Jesus is proud of your faith, will grow your faith, and your heart for him will be eternally rewarded.
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